HAPPY DAYS

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – With the Ottawa Senators’ 3-2 overtime win on Saturday afternoon and their 4-1 series victory against the Buffalo Sabres, at least three former members of the Grand Rapids Griffins will compete in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Forwards Chris Kelly (2001-02), Chris Neil (1999-01) and Jason Spezza (2001-02) play for Ottawa, which served as the Griffins’ parent club for three seasons from 1999-2002. The Senators’ roster also includes netminder Ray Emery, who practiced with Grand Rapids during the 2002 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Ottawa will face either the Detroit Red Wings, the Griffins’ affiliate since 2002, or the Anaheim Ducks in the Stanley Cup Finals. Should the Red Wings prevail in their series, which is currently tied at two games apiece, as many as 15 former Griffins would fight for the right to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Three players have gone on to win a Stanley Cup after playing for the Griffins: Carolina’s Kevyn Adams in 2006, and Tampa Bay’s Dmitry Afanasenkov and Darren Rumble in 2004.